2015–16 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by third year head coach Richard Pitino, the Golden Gophers were members of the Big Ten Conference and played their home games at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They finished the season 8–23, 2–16 in Big Ten play to finish in 13th place. They lost in the first round of the Big Ten tournament to Illinois.

2015–16 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	8–23 (2–16 Big Ten)
Head coach	Richard Pitino (3rd season)
Assistant coaches	Ben Johnson Nate Pomeday Kimani Young
Home arena	Williams Arena
Seasons ← 2014–15 2016–17 →

2015–16 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 14 Indiana	15	–	3		.833			27	–	8		.771
No. 2 Michigan State †	13	–	5		.722			29	–	6		.829
No. 18 Maryland	12	–	6		.667			27	–	9		.750
No. 12 Purdue	12	–	6		.667			26	–	9		.743
No. 25 Iowa	12	–	6		.667			22	–	11		.667
Wisconsin	12	–	6		.667			22	–	13		.629
Ohio State	11	–	7		.611			21	–	14		.600
Michigan	10	–	8		.556			23	–	13		.639
Northwestern	8	–	10		.444			20	–	12		.625
Penn State	7	–	11		.389			16	–	16		.500
Nebraska	6	–	12		.333			16	–	18		.471
Illinois	5	–	13		.278			15	–	19		.441
Minnesota	2	–	16		.111			11	–	20		.355
Rutgers	1	–	17		.056			7	–	25		.219
† 2016 Big Ten tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The season was marred by the suspensions of three players, Kevin Dorsey, Nate Mason and Dupree McBrayer, on March 1, 2016 for allegedly posting a sex video online.^[1][2] The players were suspended for the rest of the season.^[3]

Previous season

The Golden Gophers finished the 2014–15 Season with a record of 18–15, 6–12 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for 10th place. They won their first round game in the Big Ten tournament against Rutgers, but they lost their second round game to Ohio State.

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Andre Hollins	1	G	6'2"	195	Senior	Memphis, TN	Graduated
Deandre Mathieu	4	G	5'9"	170	Senior	Knoxville, TN	Graduated
Daquein McNeil	5	G	6'3"	195	Sophomore	Baltimore, MD	Suspended due to an assault[4]
Kendal Shell	12	G	6'0"	185	Senior	St. Louis, MO	Graduated
Maurice Walker	15	F	6'10"	250	RS Senior	Scarborough, ON	Graduated
Elliott Eliason	55	C	6'11"	245	RS Senior	Chadron, NE	Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Davonte Fitzgerald	20	F	6'7"	209	Junior	Tucker, GA	Transferred from Texas A&M. Under NCAA transfer rules, Fitzgerald will have to sit out for the 2015–16 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.
Reggie Lynch	22	C	6'10"	255	Junior	Edina, MN	Transferred from Illinois State. Under NCAA transfer rules, Lynch will have to sit out for the 2015–16 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.

Incoming recruits

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Jarvis Johnson PG	Brooklyn Park, MN	De La Salle High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sep 12, 2014
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Kevin Dorsey PG	Port Tobacco, MD	Clinton Christian School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jul 12, 2014
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Dupree McBrayer SG	Jamaica, NY	Sunrise Christian Academy	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Aug 23, 2014
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Jordan Murphy SF	San Antonio, TX	William J. Brennan High School	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	May 16, 2014
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Ahmad Gilbert SF	Philadelphia, PA	Constitution High School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Apr 23, 2015
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Overall recruit ranking:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2015 Minnesota Signees". ESPN. Retrieved July 6, 2015. "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals. Retrieved July 6, 2015.

2016 Recruiting Class

College recruiting information (2016)
Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Michael Hurt PF	Rochester, MN	John Marshall High School	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jan 16, 2015
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Eric Curry PF	Little Rock, AR	Southwest Christian Academy	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Sep 23, 2015
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Overall recruit ranking:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2016 Minnesota Signees". ESPN. Retrieved July 6, 2015. "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals. Retrieved July 6, 2015.

Roster

2015–16 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 1 Dupree McBrayer (S) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Sunrise Christian Academy Queens, NY G 2 Nate Mason (S) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Arlington Country Day Decatur, GA F 3 Jordan Murphy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr Brennan San Antonio, TX G 4 Kevin Dorsey (S) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Clinton Christian School Waldorf, MD G 10 Darin Haugh (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) RS Jr Bethany Lutheran Prior Lake, MN G 12 Jarvis Johnson  6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr DeLaSalle Minneapolis, MN G 15 Stephon Sharp (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Hopkins Bloomington, MN F 20 Davonte Fitzgerald (I)  6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Tucker Texas A&M Atlanta, GA C 21 Bakary Konaté 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So Sunrise Christian Academy Bamako, Mali C 22 Reggie Lynch (I)  6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Jr Edina Illinois State Edina, MN F 23 Charles Buggs 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Jr Hargrave Military Academy Arlington, TX F 24 Joey King 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr Eastview Drake Eagan, MN G 25 Mike Lukashewich (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Appleton North Appleton, WI G 32 Ahmad Gilbert 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Constitution Philadelphia, PA F 41 Gaston Diedhiou 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So Canarias Academy Dakar, Senegal	Head coach Richard Pitino (Providence) Assistant coach(es) Ben Johnson (Minnesota) Nate Pomeday (Northwestern) Kimani Young (UTEP) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Nov 1, 2015* 4:00 pm		Minnesota–Crookston	W 74–57		Williams Arena  Minneapolis, MN
Nov 6, 2015* 7:00 pm		Southwest Minnesota State	W 81–64		Williams Arena  Minneapolis, MN
Non-conference regular season
Nov 13, 2015* 8:00 pm		UMKC	W 76–58	1–0	Williams Arena (9,744) Minneapolis, MN
Nov 15, 2015* 2:00 pm, BTN		Louisiana–Monroe	W 67–56	2–0	Williams Arena (9,915) Minneapolis, MN
Nov 19, 2015* 10:30 am, ESPN2		vs. Temple Puerto Rico Tip-Off quarterfinals	L 70–75	2–1	Roberto Clemente Coliseum (1,601) San Juan, PR
Nov 20, 2015* 9:30 am, ESPNU		vs. Missouri State Puerto Rico Tip-Off consolation round	W 74–69	3–1	Roberto Clemente Coliseum (1,814) San Juan, PR
Nov 22, 2015* 1:30 pm, ESPNU		vs. Texas Tech Puerto Rico Tip-Off 5th place game	L 68–81	3–2	Roberto Clemente Coliseum (1,492) San Juan, PR
Nov 27, 2015* 2:00 pm, ESPN3		Nebraska–Omaha	W 93–90	4–2	Williams Arena (9,976) Minneapolis, MN
Nov 30, 2015* 8:00 pm, ESPN2		Clemson ACC–Big Ten Challenge	W 89–83	5–2	Williams Arena (10,229) Minneapolis, MN
Dec 5, 2015* 2:00 pm		South Dakota	L 81–85 2OT	5–3	Williams Arena (10,754) Minneapolis, MN
Dec 8, 2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		South Dakota State	L 70–84	5–4	Williams Arena (10,378) Minneapolis, MN
Dec 12, 2015* 7:30 pm, BTN		vs. Oklahoma State Sioux Falls Showcase	L 60–62	5–5	Sanford Pentagon (3,250) Sioux Falls, SD
Dec 16, 2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Chicago State	W 70–52	6–5	Williams Arena (10,175) Minneapolis, MN
Dec 23, 2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Milwaukee	L 65–74	6–6	Williams Arena (10,364) Minneapolis, MN
Big Ten regular season
Dec 30, 2015 6:00 pm, BTN		at Ohio State	L 63–78	6–7 (0–1)	Value City Arena (13,701) Columbus, OH
Jan 2, 2016 2:00 pm, ESPN2		No. 1 Michigan State	L 61–69	6–8 (0–2)	Williams Arena (12,836) Minneapolis, MN
Jan 5, 2016 6:00 pm, BTN		at Penn State	L 77–86	6–9 (0–3)	Bryce Jordan Center (5,892) University Park, PA
Jan 9, 2016 1:30 pm, BTN		Northwestern	L 52–77	6–10 (0–4)	Williams Arena (10,436) Minneapolis, MN
Jan 12, 2016 8:00 pm, BTN		at Nebraska	L 59–84	6–11 (0–5)	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,628) Lincoln, NE
Jan 16, 2016 11:30 am, BTN		Indiana	L 63–70	6–12 (0–6)	Williams Arena (11,176) Minneapolis, MN
Jan 20, 2016 7:30 pm, BTN		at Michigan	L 69–74	6–13 (0–7)	Crisler Center (11,726) Ann Arbor, MI
Jan 23, 2016 7:30 pm, BTN		Illinois	L 71–76 OT	6–14 (0–8)	Williams Arena (11,026) Minneapolis, MN
Jan 27, 2016 8:00 pm, BTN		No. 21 Purdue	L 64–68	6–15 (0–9)	Williams Arena (10,484) Minneapolis, MN
Jan 30, 2016 1:15 pm, BTN		at No. 19 Indiana	L 68–74	6–16 (0–10)	Assembly Hall (17,472) Bloomington, IN
Feb 4, 2016 8:00 pm, BTN		at Northwestern	L 58–84	6–17 (0–11)	Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,015) Evanston, IL
Feb 10, 2016 8:00 pm, BTN		Michigan	L 74–82	6–18 (0–12)	Williams Arena (11,137) Minneapolis, MN
Feb 14, 2016 6:30 pm, BTN		at No. 4 Iowa	L 71–75	6–19 (0–13)	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,400) Iowa City, IA
Feb 18, 2016 7:00 pm, BTN		No. 6 Maryland	W 68–63	7–19 (1–13)	Williams Arena (10,768) Minneapolis, MN
Feb 23, 2016 6:00 pm, BTN		Rutgers	W 83–61	8–19 (2–13)	Williams Arena (10,333) Minneapolis, MN
Feb 28, 2016 7:00 pm, BTN		at Illinois	L 71–84	8–20 (2–14)	State Farm Center (12,008) Champaign, IL
Mar 2, 2016 8:00 pm, BTN		Wisconsin	L 49–62	8–21 (2–15)	Williams Arena (12,275) Minneapolis, MN
Mar 5, 2016 12:00 pm, BTN		at Rutgers	L 52–75	8–22 (2–16)	The RAC (4,473) Piscataway, NJ
Big Ten tournament
Mar 9, 2016 3:30 pm, ESPN2	(13)	vs. (12) Illinois First Round	L 52–85	8–23	Bankers Life Fieldhouse (16,528) Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

See also

• 2015–16 Minnesota Golden Gophers women's basketball team